Chemical suicide method spreads danger

As many as five times since 2010, people in San Diego County have committed suicide using a technique that could also kill those who find or try to help them.

The method entails mixing incompatible chemicals to create a deadly toxic gas. Often, the person mixes the chemicals in a car or other small enclosed space.

The method, known as chemical suicide, originated in Japan in the mid-2000s and has come into growing use in the U.S.

Two people in San Diego County killed themselves using the technique in 2010. It happened again in September 2012, and then in May, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

In San Diego County, 369 people committed suicide in 2010. In 2011, the number rose to 392, and last year to 413.

The most recent occurrence using the deadly mix happened on Oct. 21 when a 20-year-old man killed himself in his car at an Interstate 5 rest stop north of Oceanside.

A motorist found him and called 911. Camp Pendleton firefighters, among the first to arrive at the scene, recognized the danger, said Brad Long, a hazardous-materials specialist with the county’s Department of Environmental Health.

Hazardous-materials teams took over and shut down the Aliso Creek Rest Area from about 11:30 a.m. to shortly after 4 p.m.

Concerns about the threat to first responders — like a police officer who may break open a car window to get to a person inside — led local authorities to hold controlled experiments in August.

They used a car in a wide open space and ran four separate tests, Long said. They found that the chemical mix immediately reached lethal levels.

Their findings were presented at a statewide conference, he said, and included information on which gear was the best for emergency personnel to wear.

“There is as much danger to the public and first responders as there is to the individual who has chosen this method to commit the act of suicide,” said Deputy Chief Jake Oreshan of the New York Office of Fire Prevention and Control, a national expert on responding to chemical suicides.

Last year, at least 36 first responders across the country were treated after coming into contact with toxic fumes, he said.

“They see an individual slumped over in a car or having a medical emergency, and they have a tendency to be reactive. They want to get the victim out of the car,” Oreshan said.

But breaking a window or opening the door releases the toxic gas.

Oreshan also said that even long after the suicide there can be a residual effect from the gas. He recommends that vehicles used in such suicides not be released to the family or survivors but sent to a scrap yard.

There is a small bit of warning for someone who comes upon the scene: The toxic gas smells like rotten eggs.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, if the suicide was in a vehicle, a yellow/green or white residue may be visible on the dashboard.